Illes grins at Camlo while reaching for his rapier, "We're on this hansome fellow's side" he says nodding to the bugbear. "Turns out today is election day in goblin town and we are campaign mangers for the new chief."

Yeah, sorry - being sociable, recovering from being sociable, then the in-laws descended this weekend, and the sun is out (it being the UK, this is a remarkable event where we all stand outside gazing at the sky in wonderment for hours instead of huddling inside as usual) - so I've been very slow. However, my mind has turned to the conundrum, I think I have a solution, and I "fully intend" to roll it out for your delectation tonight.

This may need a little explanation. The main two maps are vertical representations of the two cavern walls where the goblins live. There are numbers (modes of moving between ledges) and letters (ledge reference IDs) in the map. The IDs should be obvious, the numbers less so. There are three means of moving from ledge to ledge: rope bridges (green), ladders (orange) and swing ropes (purple). The numbers show you the start and end point of your journey, which may be on the same cavern wall (most often for ladders) or may be on the opposite wall (most often for bridges). I'll let you know the distances to travel and how long it takes as we go along. Bridges require no special checks to travel, the ladders can simply be climbed but a Climb check of DC 10 will let you move faster than 1/4 speed (half speed moving up, full speed moving down). A swing rope requires a DC 10 Acrobatics check to leap off of the right point - fail by more than 5 and you fall, fail by less than 5 and you may find yourself swinging in the middle of the cavern. Also, remember that the cavern walls slope out as they descend, so the distance between the two cavern walls increases the further down you descend. It also means that it is very difficult to simply drop to the ledge below you - chances are you cannot see the ledge below you on the same face due to the cavern widening out like this.

There are also maps of ledges A (the entrance) and B (the chief's ledge). G's are goblins, BB is the bugbear, Ch is the chief, F's are the chief's flunkies. I'll create more ledge maps as they become necessary.

Cool map.
So it appears that the most direct way (by foot) to the chief’s ledge is across Bridge 1 to ledge J, down ladder 2 to ledge K, across bridge 3 (or swing rope 18?) to ledge C, down ladder 4 to ledge D, down ladder 5 to ledge E, up ladder 6 to the other part of ledge E, and across bridge 7 to ledge B – am I following these connections correctly?

Of the goblins on ledge A, which one is our charmed goblin? The bugbear is charmed, presumably the other goblins on our ledge are on the chief’s side or unaligned.

So it appears that the most direct way (by foot) to the chief’s ledge is across Bridge 1 to ledge J, down ladder 2 to ledge K, across bridge 3 (or swing rope 18?) to ledge C, down ladder 4 to ledge D, down ladder 5 to ledge E, up ladder 6 to the other part of ledge E, and across bridge 7 to ledge B – am I following these connections correctly?

Possibly - without the map in front of me I can't be definitive, but it is deliberately complicated to get to the chief's ledge, for defensive purposes, and that sounds about right. I think I put in a more direct, though dangerous, route too.

Quote:

Of the goblins on ledge A, which one is our charmed goblin? The bugbear is charmed, presumably the other goblins on our ledge are on the chief’s side or unaligned.

I forgot about him, but G1. The others are current "assessing the situation", yes. Everything to play for...

The bugbear charges across the bridge, pushing the nearest goblin out of the way as if it wasn't there and sending it sprawling. "Right," it snarls at the others on the ledge, looming over them, "Are you with me, or against me?" The goblins gulp, not sure what to do.